Best Place to live in Tennessee?

KC, Please try to avoid Memphis. I've lived in the city of Memphis my entire life. A few years ago I did move to the out-skirts and like it much better. The crime is completely ridiculous. EVERYDAY on the local news someone has been shot, stabbed, beaten, robbed, murdered...etc. It is getting worse every year. Memphis has many pros (Grizzles, FedEX, FedEx Forum, food, THE ZOO is wonderful) but the cons out-weigh by far (the public schools...terrible, the crime...ridiculous, the city mayor...hates white people and let's everyone know it). If the money drives your family to Memphis, please look in the Arlington area or either South Tipton County or Fayette County for homes. Kevin....Cordova is turning sour Quickly! It is turning into a new Hickory Hill...give it 10 or less years and it will be equivalent to. The mall is pulling the rough crowd in. If you find the "best place" to live....please let us know! I wish you & your family happiness and a safe new journey. Good Luck! Bon

I grew up in the Chattanooga area, moved to the Nashville area for college and have many friends from both Knoxville and Memphis. Additionally I'm a pilot and one of my old college roomates in an A&P so I have some idea of the market in the state for them. I have 5 or 6 friends all college aged from the Memphis area. My only opinion of the area is from what they have told me since I've never been, but since everyone I've known from the area ran screaming out of the city I can't recommend it. Unfortunately, MEM based Fed Ex is the most likely place to find work for an A&P. If you do move there, be prepared to move to a place like Cordova, TN and have a 45 some odd minute commute. Crime is a HUGE issue there. My friends from that area never locked their car doors because to them it means their windows would be smashed in addition to whatever the thief wanted to steal being taken. Probably more money to be had in Memphis though. My A&P friend is from the Knoxville area. TYS has some work for A&P's, but I've been told there is more in the surrounding area.The Appalachians are beautiful and the people are very friendly. TYS is a fair sized airport and they have a decent string of uncontrolled fields. Knoxville is the place I'd pick if I were a more outdoors type of person. Chattanooga is the smallest and more artsy of the 4 you've listed. Also probably the safest. Most people in the suburbs there don't feel the need to lock their doors. You are however more limited to where you'd live. Unless you want to live in the sticks you're restricted to Chattanooga proper, Ooltewah / Colegedale or Cleveland. Chattanooga is still urban and to me not the ideal place to start a family and Ooltewah is a bit boring thoght closer to CHA (probably a 20 minute drive) More to do in Cleveland, but still not exactly a happening town. Nashville for an A&P boasts BNA, MQY (a class D airport with a pair of FBO's, a regional using it as repair hub and an airplane graveyars) and MBT (verybusy uncontrolled airport) This would probably be the between choice. Safer than Memphis, more to do than Chattanooga and more urban than Knoxville. Traffic is horrid though. Not necessarily due to sheer traffic, but constant construction. Were I an A&P trying to start a family and had my choice of location, I'd want to work at SAC (Smyrna Air Center at MQY). Routine work on hangared singles, plenty of King Airs and enough corp jets to keep things interesting all while living in a place with dirt cheap cost of living and the city of Nashville just 25 minutes away. I don't know about the quality of Smyrna schools, but it is in the same county as Murfreesboro which I know has fine public schools (in TN you can pay a bit extra to send your child to a better public school in another city that is in the same county) and if you want more, you can send your child to numberous private schools in Nashville. I grew up in Cleveland and went to college in Murfreesboro so I'm admittedly biased. Murfreesboro is consistantly ranked in the top 100 best places to live and from my view point Smyrna is 5 minutes away with a greater chance for employment. I know that because I had my airplane hangared at SAC for a few years. Best of luck to you in your move.

best place is no place

Aircraft mechanic try the Helicopter repair in Blountville Tennessee. They just built a new facility. The repair copters from all over the USA. It is located in the Tri Citites industrial park. If you live in the county you will never if ever have any problems. I have not locked my doors in so long I have lost the key to the house, see what I mean. Even when I go on vaction.